Part of the preventative maintenance that computers need is looking for problems. Hard drives store data in different sectors or segments on the drive itself. Windows Vista's Error Checking program scans[more…]

Sometimes when you run into technical trouble, the solution isn't obvious. That's when it helps to use the Hardware Troubleshooter in Windows Vista. The Hardware Troubleshooter is a handy tool that will[more…]

Knowing how to update a driver in Windows Vista is crucial to keeping your system performing at its best. Hardware manufacturers update the drivers (the little programs that enable Windows Vista to control[more…]

Reformatting a drive in Windows Vista is usually a pretty simple process, which might lull you into the misconception that reformatting a drive in Windows Vista is no big deal. Wrong. Reformatting a drive[more…]

Sometimes the easiest way to get the information you need is to do a quick search, but other times, the questions or search terms you need to use aren't readily apparent. In these situations, your best[more…]

You can use Disk Management to extend a partition in Windows Vista. Extending a partition adds to your drive space by borrowing from an adjoining partition on your hard drive and makes your system utilize[more…]

Windows Vista provides a good general Disk Defragmenter in its System Tools. But if you want to have more control over what is being defragmented and what information you are given about the process, you[more…]

Viewing the results of the defrags on a Windows Vista computer takes a bit of effort, but it's worth the effort to check this occasionally to make sure the defrags are running as scheduled. After all,[more…]

You can increase the speed and efficiency of your computer by increasing the paging volume in Windows Vista. Your computer comes with a certain amount of RAM, which it uses to keep things running smoothly[more…]

You can speed up the way your computer uses its RAM if you know how to use the drive accelerators that come with Windows Vista. Vista boasts three technologies that speed up your computer by judicious[more…]

Shutting a Windows Vista computer all the way down and then rebooting can cure many computer problems. When you reboot, Windows goes through several self-repair processes that really can make a difference[more…]

If you want to speed up your computer, you need to know how to use the Task Manager to monitor computer status in Windows Vista. Previous versions of Windows hid performance data in dozens of obscure nooks[more…]

Windows Vista's Safe Mode is a great diagnostic tool. When Windows Vista starts up, it loads all of the drivers and many of your most common programs automatically, and usually this is great. But if you're[more…]

The Task Manager is a handy tool that lets you monitor the way applications are using your computer's resources and close "frozen" programs. You can place the Task Manager in the Windows Vista system tray[more…]

Monitoring Vista's CPU utilization can give you an insight into why your computer behaves the way it does, but only if you understand what you see. Fortunately, you can use the Resource Monitor to interpret[more…]

Although you can use the Task Manager to monitor when things are going wrong with your system, this isn't very useful if the system is so locked up that you can't open it. One way to avoid this problem[more…]

Windows XP had a program called the Desktop Cleanup Wizard that offered to clean the desktop for you, but it didn't work very well, so it was left out of Windows Vista. Never fear, you can still clean[more…]

When a program becomes unstable, you can try to repair it, but if that fails, the only option is to uninstall it and start over. It's important to clean up the Windows Vista Registry before reinstalling[more…]

So you got a bad patch from Microsoft? Hey, join the club. If you know you have a bad patch, you need to know how to remove the Windows Patch in Windows Vista. The first thing you need to know to remove[more…]

Many media codecs are included in Windows Vista, but as technology changes daily, it is important to know how to install new codecs for the Windows Media Player. Codecs are important in the Windows Media[more…]

Before you start spelunking through your Registry, you need to back it up. If you know how to back up the Windows Vista Registry, you can undo most damage that you might accidentally cause by modifying[more…]

Computers require regular maintenance in the same way that cars do. You should defragment your hard drives regularly in Windows Vista to improve your computer's speed and efficiency. When files are deleted[more…]

Part of cleaning up your computer and maintaining it efficiently is to delete cookies by using Internet Explorer in Windows Vista. There are pros and cons to allowing cookies to be saved on your computer[more…]